Vacuum Robot Adapted to Grip and Transport a Substrate and Method Thereof

A robot adapted to transport a substrate, the robot comprising:

• a robot drive coupled to an arm and having an end-effector adapted to support the substrate;
• a front support having at least one hard stop coupled to the end-effector;
• a contact element movably coupled to the end-effector;
• a bias device coupled to the contact element;
• and
• at least one actuator coupled to the end-effector configured to move the contact element between a grip position and a release position;
• wherein the bias device is configured to passively bias the contact element in the grip position such that the contact element contacts an edge of the substrate urging the substrate against the at least one hard stop and configured to passively bias the contact element in the release position such that the contact element is retained in the release position.

A method for a robot to transport a substrate, the method comprising:

• providing a robot drive coupled to an arm and having an end-effector adapted to support the substrate;
• providing a front support having at least one hard stop coupled to the end-effector;
• moving a contact element between a grip position and a release position;
• passively biasing the contact element in the grip position such that the contact element contacts an edge of the substrate to urge the substrate against the at least one hard stop;
• and
• passively biasing the contact element in the release position such that the contact element is retained in the release position.